California`s Chardonnays Rated Tops

September 08, 1988|By Kristine N. Curry, Copyright 1988.

Chardonnay. Tagged ``California gold`` by many, this grape variety has emerged during the last three years not only as America`s favorite white wine, but perhaps California`s greatest contribution to the American wine industry. In 1987 chardonnay sales accounted for $525 million, easily the biggest moneymaker of all varietal wines.

Those hefty sales figures are expected to continue. Sales in 1988 will reflect the movement of the back-to-back spectacular vintages of 1985 and 1986. Both vintages are extremely high in quality, offering consumers a wide range in styles and prices. Many in the industry are pronouncing this pair of vintages as the best in California history.

What has fueled this chardonnay craze? The emergence of the ``fighting varietal`` has had a tremendous effect. The fighting varietal is a wine bearing the name of a specific grape variety such as chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon, that is competitively priced in the $3.50 to $5.50 range, thus the term ``fighting.`` Consumers have switched from 1.5 liter jug wines with generic names to the more sophisticated 750 milliliter bottles with varietal names.

And more often than not, that varietal name has been chardonnay. Americans prefer to drink white wines, and chardonnay is an easy white wine to like.

``It`s a matter of confidence,`` says Ed Sbragia, winemaker at Beringer vineyards, during a recent tasting in Chicago. ``California winemakers are more confident with winemaking styles now. And the maturity of the grapevines has a lot to do with the quality of the grapes. Most of the vines are producing high-quality fruit, and we finally know how to handle that fruit better.``

Several significant changes have been adopted widely in the way that the grapes are handled during the winemaking process. Grapes are picked earlier, enhancing the acid balance in the wine. That makes the fruity characteristics more obvious and gives a ``cleaner`` taste to the wine.

Generally, the grapes are given minimal skin contact during fermentation, which results in a paler color but gives the wine more delicacy.

Finally, vintners are using more and more oak barrels for fermentation, which helps integrate the toasty, butterscotch flavors into the wine. Previous winemaking practices often left chardonnays with glaring, buttery, oaky tastes because they were aged but not fermented in oak.

Here are 15 chardonnays from 1986 that are at the top of the taste list.

- Alexander Valley Vineyards Wetzel Family Estate, about $11. Citrus character in the nose, soft fruity flavors, nice complexity, needs some time in the bottle.

- Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley, about $14.50. Made in a white Burgundian style, rich and oaky in texture and aroma with pleasing spicy character.

- Carneros Creek Los Carneros, about $12. Ripe fruity aromas and flavors with a hint of butterscotch, very flavorful and luscious.

- Chalk Hill Sonoma County, about $11. A white Burgundian clone, with rich vanilla in the aroma and taste, elegant with a lingering butterscotch finish.

- Chateau Souverain Sonoma County, about $9. Excellent effort from newly reorganized Souverain. Tropical pineapple tastes and aromas, rich and toasty character with a good acid balance.